Drinking Water Regulations
National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (NPDWRs or primary standards) are legally enforceable standards that apply to public water systems. Primary standards protect public health by limiting the levels of contaminants in drinking water. Visit the list of regulated contaminants with links for more details.3 Decades
Reverse osmosis filters have been around for more than 3 decades, and the popularity for it is tremendous in the past 5 years because there has been many reports on drinking water contaminations and public health advisor telling people to pre-filter their drinking water.Purification
Water purification generally means freeing water from any kind of impurity it contains, such as physico-chemical contaminants or micro organisms. Water purification is not a one step process, the purification process contains many steps. The steps that need to be progressed depend on the kind of impurities that are found in the water. This can differ very much for different types of water.IMPORTANCE WATER for Human being
Water constitutes 65 to 70% of our body. It helps to digest the food, eliminate toxic wastes, helps to assimilate, transport oxygen and nutrients and also regulate the body temperature. Water deficiency in our system will lead to severe dehydration and other impacts. 0.5% deficiency will make you thirsty, 5% will cause light fever, 8% will cause no saliva formation and more than 12% will lead to intense dehydration and death.- Be Aware
- 2.2 lakhs 80% of all diseases are waterborne! (As per World Health Organization)
- Every day 1600 people die due to water borne diseases in India (5/12/2006, CNN IBN)
- World wide 22 lakhs deaths every year (90% are children under 5 years old)
- 130 Crore people does not have access to drinking water (available drinking water is < 0.3%)
- In India, over 6.6 crores people including 70 lakhs children are afflicted with endemic fluoridise habitations affected water quality problems in India - (Report from Rajiv Gandhi National Drinking Water Mission)
WATER POLLUTION EFFECTS
Human infectious diseases are among the most serious effects of water pollution, especially in developing countries, where sanitation may be inadequate or non-existent. Waterborne diseases occur when parasites or other disease-causing microorganisms are transmitted via contaminated water, particularly water contaminated by pathogens originating from excreta.There are different types of water borne diseases depending on the causative organism i.e. bacterial diseases, viral diseases and protozoan diseases. Typhoid, paratyphoid, cholera, dysentery, diarrhoea and gastroenteritis are the common bacterial diseases. Polio, hepatitis A & E (jaundice), gastroenteritis, dysentery, infantile diarrhoea etc. are viral diseases. The commonly found protozoan diseases are amoebic dysentery, cryptosporidium, giardiasis, ascariasis, and hookworm etc. These major diseases accounts for 80% of the epidemic occurrences. It is estimated that, at any time half of the world's hospital beds are occupied by patients suffering from water borne diseases.
Chemical Contamination
Over the years, many types of chemicals have gotten into our waterways and they continue to do so today. Chemical water pollution typically occurs because ...
- The chemicals were dumped into the water intentionally;
- The chemicals seeped into groundwater, streams, or rivers because of failing pipes or storage tanks;
- The chemicals catastrophically contaminated waterways because of industrial accidents;
- The pollution settled out of polluted air (or was precipitated out of polluted air); or chemicals were leached out of contaminated soil.
It's beyond the scope of this article to document the effect of every chemical that has ever polluted water, but it's easy enough to point out a few things:
* Severe chemical spills and leaks into surfaces waters usually have an immediate effect on aquatic life (fish kills, etc.).
* Chronic lower-level chemical pollution has more subtle effects, with problems manifesting over a long period of time and sometimes being difficult picture of dead fish in polluted water to tie directly to the water pollution.
* The human effects of chemical pollution in water can generally be viewed the same as any other form of chemical contamination—water is just the delivery mechanism.
500 Contaminants in Tap Water!!!? A shocking Discovery
Drinking tap water is like pouring chemicals and other contaminants into our body. It is like smoking which will not kill us immediately, but we know it is very detrimental to our health and irreversible. Children are more vulnerable then adults since they are growing and have a smaller body mass. The common one or two stage carbon filters can not protect you from this list of contaminants outlined by the government. Only a reverse osmosis system can give you the most protection at a reasonable cost.
The Environment Protection Agency compose a list of contaminants in drinking water that are health hazardous.
Click here to view the complte list
It is no longer the question of what is in our tap water, it is now a question of what can we do to protect our family's drinking water.
Effect of Chlorine in routine purification METHODS:
Chlorination is usually done by treating water with bleaching powder, which is cheap & readily available as a white powder. Chemically it is Sodium Hypochlorite / Calcium Hypochlorite. The bleaching powder reacts with water and produce hypochlorous acid. Hypochlorous acid destroys the bacteria in the water but at the same time reacts with organic impurities in water producing dangerous Trihalomethanes (THMs). Besides, the excess chlorine reacts with ammonia producing chloramines. Both these compounds are carcinogenic - causes cancer. Once this water is released from the treatment system, it is prone to recontamination by rust, dirt, dust, drainage wastes etc. Considering the ill effects, most of the developed countries have banned chlorination.Next to chlorine, lead is the most common contaminant found in tap water. Lead enters the drinking water from plumbing and fixtures, especially those with chrome-plated brass and brass which contain 8% to 15% lead. The EPA estimates that 98% of all homes have pipes, fixtures or solder joints in the household plumbing that can leach some level of lead into the tap water. Vehicle exhaust also releases lead into the atmosphere and mixes with rain water, polluting the drinking water source. Paints and batteries also contribute to the lead content in water.
Lead poisoning is very dangerous for children below ten years, as it affects their central and peripheral nervous system and results in mental retardation. Arsenic in drinking water causes cancer in bladder, lung, kidney, liver and skin. It can also harm the heart and blood vessels, causing birth defects and reproductive problems. Fortunately, appropriate technologies are available today to reduce lead content in water.